Lt Col, soldier killed in avalanche in north Sikkim

A Lt Colonel and a soldier of the Indian Army were killed in an avalanche in the mountainous Lugnak La region of north Sikkim on Thursday, officials said.

The two personnel were part of an 18-member group which came under the avalanche, they said.

"A patrolling-cum-snow clearance party came under avalanche in North Sikkim on 14 May," a senior Army official said.

"Inspite of the best efforts of the rescue team and local formation an officer Lt Col Robert TA and sapper Sapala Shanmukha Rao who were trapped under the ice lost their lives," he said.